Paper-folding machine.



J. H. ADAMS. PAPER FOLDING MACHINE4 APPLICATION FILED SBPT.28,1907. 4909,841, Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. xiii/T75 WWW/M J. H. ADAMS. PAPER POLDIN G MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED SIEPI. 28, 1907. 909,841

Patented J an. 12, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. H. ADAMS. PAPER FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.28,1907. 909,841. Patented Jan. 12,1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

narran sfrAzrjEs rarnnfr orribili JOHN ll. Alm-M71', Ol" MlNNlAPULlS,MINNESOTA, AbSlGNOlt, BY lvlllSNll ASS,i`tll\li\l.li\"l`S, TO

ADAMS LF'lll FOLDlNG MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION Ol'w MINNESOTA.

PAPER-FOLDIN G MACHINE Specification of Iietters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909i.

Application filed September 28, 1907. Serial No. 395,022.

To all 'ux/Ioniy it muy concern:

lie it known that l, JOHN il. ADAMS, of `Minneapolis, llennepin county,Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful lmprovenienls inlapeilfolding Machines, of which the .following` is aspecilication.'

'the invention relates to machines for folding paper such as letters,circulars and similar matter, and the object of the invention is loimprove the folding mechanism shown and described in Letters latent ofthe United States issued to me November th,

190e, ne. 036,235.

'lhe invention consists gene, `ally in variousl constructions andcombinations, all as horeinat'ter descril'nal and particularly pointedout in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, forming part o'l' ilus specilication,Figure 1 is a side `elevation of a paper folding machine eniloodying myinvention. Fig. 2 isa front elevation of the same. lrig. 3 is a sideelevation showing the opposite side of the machine from the illustrationin F ig. 1. Fig. -l-'is a vertical sectional. view illustrating thefolding mechanism in detail. Fig. is a detail .sectionall view showingthe manner of swinging the-'hinged tongue plate away from the. pressurerolls and folding wheels, the folding devices being omitted, toillustrate more clearly the position and arrangement ol the other parts.Fig. G is a detail sectional view illustrating the operation of the'folding wheels.

ln the drawing, 2 represents the bedor feed table of thev machinesupported on the forward and rear legs B-and 4. 5 represents a portionof a sheet feeding mechanism mounted on the' table. 2 and forming thesubject mailer of a companion application for l". S. Letters Patent,tiled on July 8,1907, Serial No. 392,707, and which therefore needs nodetailed description or illustration herein. Y'

(i is a feed ruil driven from a gear 7 hav ing` a belt connection S witha large driving wheel il mounted on a. sha ft 10 on which is anoperating crank 1l., A feed roll 'l2 is mounted .in standards 13 beneatha feed opening lll in the said table anda feed roll 15 is arranged abovethe roll 12 and is carried by arms l() that are pivot ed on the trible 2and are provided with springs IT, the tension of which tends lo hold.the roll l5 in yielding engagement with the roll l2.

l i i v 1 l l i i 1 i The paper passing between the rolls 12 and lf isgiven a posltive feed toward the end of the table and the fingersprojecting therethrough. A feed roll 18 is arrzmged beside' the roll 12and cooperates therewith and is driven therefrom at one end throughgears 19 and 20. 4

ln my patent above referred to l. have described a'device for regulatingthe number of folds to be made 'in the paper. In this machine I employ amechanism for the Sallie purpose but have simplified and improved thesame and will now proceed to describe it in detail.

2U is a blade suspended over and between the rolls 12 and 18 upon aframe 2l, mounted on a shaft 22 and normally held in a raised positionby a spiing`23. Guides 23 serve to direct the paper and hold it in placeon the table. A shaft 24 mounted in the machinetable is provided with aseries of up- -wardlyprojecting trigger arms 25 whose ends extend abovethe surface of the table through slots 2G therein into the path of thesheets of paper passing between the rolls 12 cause the downward movementof the frame 21 and the engagement of the plate 20 with the paper tocrease the same and feed it in' .between the rolls 12 and 18 in themanner described in my patent above referred to. "The dog 29 is forcedlout of e agement with the teeth of the ratchet nb the succeeding teethof said ratchet whic strike thel dog as it is drawn down in therevolution of the ratchet and whenthe'dog is released itreturns to itsnormal position ready to repeat the operation.

- Alever 31 pivoted on the machine table has notches to receive the pins33 and 34, the engagement of the lever with the pin 33 holding the framein proper adjustment to make a preliminary transverse fold in the paperand the adjustment of the lover in engagemcnt with the pin 34 causingthe blade to be swung downward into the path of the pape' and direct itbetween the feed rolls without making the preliminary fold, thusadapting the fold device for full sized sheets or for note size.

journaled in the standards 13 and arel prof wide beveled flanges aremounted on the shaft 36. A vertical plate 44 has openings 45 throughwhich the feed rollers operate and a plate 46 is hinged at 47 and isarranged to coperate and form a guide with the plate 44 and betweenwhich plates the Isheets of paperare fed downwardly and folded duringtheir [downward movement.

The plate 46 has an outwardly curved upper end 48 near the feed rollers,and yielding pressure, rollers 49 and 50 are carried-by spring plates 51and 52 that Aat their upper ends'are secured to the pivoted plate 46 andada ted to coperate with the rolls 42 to feed) the sheets downward. Aspring plate 53 is mounted on the plate 46 and carries a shaft 54 at itslower end having yielding spools 55 at each end between the wide bev- 30eled flanges 43 and coperating therewith to certainly and positivelyform a right-angled bend or fold .in the paper sheets. A bar 56 ispivoted at 57 on the machine table and has a notch v58 to receive a pin59 on a secondary bar 60 that is pivoted at 61 on the bar 56 and has arecess 62 to receive a pin 63 on the plate 46 thereby holding the saidplate rigidly in vertical relation with the f standards 13 and incoperation. with the feed rollers mounted in said standards.

.v The plate 46 has notches 64 in its opposite edges near the flangedwheels 43 to make room for the spools 55,'and the said plate l graduallywidens from said notches downward and fianges 65 are providedy on eachsideof said plate below the said wheels 43 and have outwardly turnedupper ends 66 and bulging or iwardly projecting middle portions 67 whichengage the folded sides of the papera'nd force them inwardly asufiicient distance to insure the proper folding of the paper as itpasses between the lower set of rollers." In other words the inwardbulge of' these fianges prevents -the sides of they folded sheets fromswingingoutwardly and the folds from spreading or separating as thepaper passes between the pressure rollers.l

It is important, of course, to have the folds parallel with one anotherand this effect is obtained and insured by the use of these anges withthe bulges or projections formed therein.

The recesses formed in the longitudinal edges of the plate 46 allow vtheu per portion of the paper to be drawn inwar as the fold is completedand insure the folded edges in the paper being formed parallel with oneanother. "Without this construction of plate, the upper edges of thesheets would have a tendency to separate or swing outward and the foldededges formed in the paper insteadl y of being parallel with one another,would diverge from the bottom toward the top of the fold. I thereforeregard this construetion of plate as an importan-t feature of my Yinvention. .s

The guide plate, a's'shown plainly in Figs. 4 and 5 is arranged beneaththe rollers 12 and 18 and is capable of swinging away fromlthe feedrollers, as indicated in Fig. 80 5, to allow access to the foldingmechanism in case -of clogging of the machine, and also to permit asheet to be removed entirely from the machine after the initial foldings operation.- This I regard as an important 853' feature of theinvention which has no equivalent in any other machine-of this type. Tocomplete the folding of thel sheets, I' provide plates 68 and 69supported on pins 70 and 71, the plate 68 having` anvinwardly 90 curvededge 72 toy engage one fold of the paper and the plate 69 having an edge73 to engage the opposite fold and`turn them in upon one another tocomplete the folding operation. These plates are' readilyremov- 95 `ableand are bentto engagev the folds of the aper at the proper time and tolproduce or orm the proper fold therein. Between ,the

lstandards 13 is a box or receptacle 70 verti` cally adjustable by meansof a threaded stud l0(-j 71 and thumb nuts' 72. A shaft 73 is mountednear the roller 38 and carries feed rollers 74, said shaft and rollersbeing movable in blocks 7 5 that are adapted to'slide on. pins 76 andare yieldingly'v held toward the -roller 38- bysprings 77. The 'shaft 73has a driving connection with the shaft 38. A f kicker plate 78 ismounted. on the shaft 73 and is arranged to depend vinto the receptacle7() and is provided with ahump or projecting 1l portion 79 which'engages the folded sheets i of paper and causes them to be moved forward into thereceptacle past the 'roller 38 and out of the path ofthenextsucceeding sheet, and also keeps the folded paper in 11.5 contactwith roller 38 sufficiently to insure the forward movement of the sheet.In other words, the folded sheets passing down between the rollers 42and 74 will be engaged by the gyrating kicker and moved into the 12:?hreceptacle a suiiicient distance and with sufficient speed to beentirely out of the path of the next folded sheet as it descends. Thekicker has a rapid and vibratory movement produced by any suitablemechanism, preferably a rod 8,0, having a sliding connection 81 at oneend with the plate 78 and pivoted at 82 on one of the standards 13 andyield= ingly held by a spring 83 in .engagement with an eccentric 84 onthe shaft 38. The 1E@ bination, wit

lsure rollers carrie revolution of the shaft 38 will operate thceccentric and produce a g rating movement lers arranged one aboveanother in said frame, a. uide plate hinged on said frame, a series opressure rollers carried by said guide plate and arranged to cooperatewith said feed rollers, means for holding said gui-de plate itoward saidfeed rollers, and said guide plate being 'adapted to swing away fromsaid feed rollers to ermit access to the paper between said eed andressure rollers.

2. n a pape-r foldinfY "machine, the coma suitab e' frame, of a seriesof feed rollers arranged at intervals one above another, a guide platehinged on said frz-une, spr-ing plates mounted on'said guide plate andpressure rollers carried by said spring plates and arran ed to coperatewith said feed rollers, a said guide plate being ca able of swingingaway from said feed rol ers to permit access to the paper between sai-dfeed and pressure rollers.

3. In a paper folding machine, the combination, with a frame, of avertical guide plate hinged at one end thereon, a series offeed rollersmounted in-said frame in the rear of said plato, ieldingl mounted resdbyf sai plate an cooperating lwith said feed rollers, and folding meansbetween which the edges of the paper are bent to form the folds therein.

Il.y 'In a paper folding machine, the combina-tion, with' a frame, offeed rollers mounted therein one above another, a guide plate, springplates mounted on said guide plate, pressure rollers carried by saidsprin plates and between which and said feet rollers the sheets are fed.

5. ln a pa er folding machine, the combination, wit 1 a frame, of feed'rollers arranged one above another, a guide )late having openingstherein, spring p ates mounted on said guide plate, pressure rollerscarried by said spring plates and arranged to cooperate through saidopenings with said feed rollers, and means for holding said guide plateand pressure rollers in coperating relation with said feed rollers.

6. The combination, with a frame, of a series-of fccd rollers arrangedone above another therein, a guide plate supported in said frame andadapted to be moved toward or from .said feed rollers, a series ofpressure rollers carried by said guide plate and copcrating with saidfeed rollers, mechanism for forming a single fold in the paper andlocated above said feed rollers and said guide plate` and said uideplate when moved awayf from said .ced rollers permitting the directdelivery of the sheets from said preliminary folding mechanism.

T. ln a folding machine, the combination, with a frame, of a series offeed rollers arranged onc above another therein, a guide plate., aseries of pressure rollers carried by said guide plate and copcratingwith said fccd rollers, means for locking said guide plate and thepressure rollers in coperating relation with said feed rollers, meansfor effecting the initial fold in thepaper and located above said guideplate and said pressure rollers, and said guide plate being lapable ofremoval from its operative position whereby thc sheets will be deliveredfrom the machine after the initial fold therein, substantially asdescribed.

8. ln a folding machine, the combination, with a frame, of an initialfolding mechanism,feed rollers arranged to receive the sheets from saidinitial folding mechanism, a guide plate capable of movement toward orfrom thc said feed rollers, a series of yieldingly mounted pressurerollers co rating with said feed rollers, a secon( ary folding means,and said guide plate when moved away from said feed rollers permit.-ting the direct delivery of the sheets from said initial foldingmechanism.

9. The combination, with a fraane, of initial foldino' rollers mountedtlferein and means for delivering thc paper to be folded thereto, feedrollers arranged one above another below said initial .folding rollers,a

vertical guide plate in front of said rollers and capable of movingtoward and from them, folding devices to which access is ermitted by themovement. of'said guide p ate away from said feed rollers, and a means 1mounted on said frame and connected to said `position to allow thedischarge of the sheets from the machine after the initial foldingoperation.

ll. ln a paper folding machine, the combination, witha guide plate andpressure rollcrs,-of wheels arranged upon each side. of'said plate andhaving beveled inner faces, and said wheels copcrating with said ressnrerollers and with said plate to ben the paper passing between them.

1Q. ln a foldingl machine, a vertically arranged hinged plate havingrecesses or notches in its longitudinal edges, the width said plateincreasing in width downwardly.

- bend the paper.

' of said plate graduallyinc'reasing from the bottom of said notchesdownwardly, wheels operating near said notches and having beveledin nerfaces, and rollers fitting into the notches in said plate andcooperating with said wheels to bend the paper.

13. In a paper folding machine, thel combination, with a suitable frame,of a guide 'plate having an outwardly.. turned guiding edge, a series offeed rollers, sprin plates mounted on said plate, pressure rol erscarried by sald spring plates and arranged to cooperate with'said feedrollers, said plate `laving'g notched longitudinal edges and meansoperating inf'said notched edges to 14. In a paper vertical standards,feed rollers arranged one above another on said standards, a guideplate, a series yof ressure' rollers carried thereby, wheels havingbeveled inner faces .provided on each .side of said plate, there l einga pair of ressure rollers opposite sa1d feed Wheels an operating betweenthem, and

ther rom whereby the top of the paper will be drawn inwardly 'and thefolds formed parallel with one another. 4

15. In a paper folding machine, the combination, w1th a frame, ofarollerhaving flanged\ ends provided. with beveled inner faces, a guideplatepfitting between said lian ed ends, pressure rollers carried bysaid .gm flanged ends to bend and-fold the ed'ges of the sheets, andmeans for delivering sheets'v e .plate and cooperating with said ofpaper between said anged roller and said guide plate. 4

16. In a paper folding machine, the combination, with the verticalstandards, of feed rollers mounted therein one ,above another, al rollerhaving flanged ends mounted in said standards intermediate to,

said feed rollers, a guide plate fitting between' said flanged ends,pressure rollers mounted on said guide -plate and arranged to cooperatewith said feed rollers, and rollers mounted on said guide platecontiguous to Vsaid flanged endsv and cooperating therewith to formbends or folds-in the edges of the paper.

17 The combination, with a frame of an folding machine, the com'bination, with a horizontal feed table and initial folding mechanismincludin rollers arranged side'by side, a risin an falling 55 knifesupported abovesaid ro ers, a ratchet wheel, a dog connected with saidknife and` normally out of engagement with the teeth of said ratchet,and mechanism actuated byv the impact of the movingarticle for causing6o said dog to engage the Vteeth of said ratchet to draw down said knifebetween said rollers, substantially as described'.

18. Thecombination, with a frame,vof an initial ,foldin ers and anoscillating knife, a ratchet wheel, a dog connected withsaid knife,mechanism actuated by the impact of the moving article for causing saiddog) to en ge the teeth of l p y knife .will be drawn to a point betweensaid rollers and said ratchet where sai the pressure of the ratchetteeth on the said dog disengaging it therefrom at a predetermined pomtin the revolution of said ratchet, substantially as described.

19.` The combination, witha frame, of an initial folding mechanismcomprising rollersv and an oscillating knife, a ratchet wheel a dogconnected with 'said knife and normally out of engagement with the teethof said ratchet, andmechanism actuated by the impact of the movingarticle for causing said dogto tem orarily engage the teeth of saidratchet an Ymove/said knife to a oint be? tween said rollers,substantially as escribed.

20. The combination, with a frame, of anv initial foldin mechanismcomprising rollers, a pivote frame, a knife blade carried thereby andmovable toward and from said rollers, a ratchet wheel, la do said frameandv normally ontA o en a ement. with the teeth of said ratchet, alin-connected with said dog, andja rock shaft havin. an arm pivotallyconnected with said liik andprovided withmeans in the path of mechanismcomprising roll- 65 pivoted on 90

